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Makiasan Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

The atmosphere in our office is very relaxed.

I found a sentence in an online dictionary, which says "The atmosphere in our office is very relaxed."
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/relaxed

I think you usually say "somebody is interested/excited/relaxed," and "something is interesting/exciting/relaxing."
So why can you say "the atmosphere" is relaxed?
Or if you can't explain the reason why you use the word "relaxed" here, not "relaxing,"
can you tell me the sentence "The atmosphere in our office is very relaxed." sounds better than "the atmosphere is very relaxing?"
  

Top answer

relaxed" = a casual, informal atmosphere. relaxing" = an atmosphere that causes someone to feel relaxed. ] Close, but not the same.

— Philip

  • relaxed" = a casual, informal atmosphere.
  • relaxing" = an atmosphere that causes someone to feel relaxed.
  • ] Close, but not the same.
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2 Answers
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"Atmosphere...relaxed" = a casual, informal atmosphere. [It may even be the people who make the office seem relaxed.]
"Atmosphere...relaxing" = an atmosphere that causes someone to feel relaxed. [Something makes the people feel at ease.]

Close, but not the same.
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Thank you very much for you explanation.
I didn't expect both of ""Atmosphere...relaxed" and "Atmosphere...relaxing" are possible.
Very interesting.
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